


Once Upon a December Night

by sleep_and_feel_no_pain



Category: Slipknot (Band)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Consensual Underage Sex, First Time, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Underage Drinking, Underage Smoking, Virginity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-11-28 22:54:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18214757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleep_and_feel_no_pain/pseuds/sleep_and_feel_no_pain
Summary: Ah, the first time. Such a magical time. It certainly is for jim and Joey.





	Once Upon a December Night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Synnerxx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Synnerxx/gifts).



> A (very late!) Christmas Fic for Synnerxx. Hopefully this ends up being worth the extremely long wait! 
> 
> Little bit of a history lesson as setup for this fic: This is set on December 1, 1991. So it predates Slipknot by quite a few years. Jim Root was guitarist for a band named Atomic Opera, and Joey’s new band, Modifidious, was opening for them in their very first show in Des Moines, Iowa at The Runway. 
> 
> Also, I know it looks bad cause Joey is 16 here, and Jim is 20, but the legal age of sexual consent in Iowa is actually 16. So technically, nobody committed a crime. Lol.

“Hey, Jim. What’s up?”

Jim kind of startles when the simple phrase is spoken, and someone strong-arms themselves into his personal space by sitting down on the barstool next to him. He turns his head from where he’s been sitting by himself at the bar for at least the last half-hour, and looks over at the diminutive young man now smirking his direction before turning to order a Coke from the bartender. 

Joey Jordison. The flashy-as-fuck drummer of the opening band of the night. Mode—Mod—whatever-the-fuck-it’s-called? Jim searches his brain but can’t seem to remember how to pronounce the band’s name even though he’d heard it spoken several times now, and he panics a little. “Uh. Hi.” He gives Joey a nervous little titter without even meaning to, and his face burns with embarrassment at the noise. “Bad ass job tonight,” he adds quickly, trying to hide his awkwardness. He’s not quite sure why, but every time he gets around Joey Jordison, he turns into this awkward, babbling idiot. 

Well, okay, he knows why: he thinks Joey is gorgeous; he has since the very first time they met. They run in the same circles, so it’s not like he’s never spoken to Joey before. Hell, this isn’t even the first time they’ve had a one-on-one conversation.

Joey smiles at the way Jim blushes, and even in the smoke-haze that hovers thickly in the dingy air of the club, Jim stares into his face, noticing suddenly that Joey has a little snaggle-tooth, and he wonders why he’s never noticed it before. He likes it immediately, he decides, as his gaze catches on it for a long moment. Somehow, it suits Joey. Jim quickly turns his head away, though, paranoid that Joey will think he’s weird for staring at him that way.

“Aw, thanks!” Joey says, seeming unfazed. “Nothing like you guys, though. Atomic Opera is fucking amazing! I mean, I’ve been coming to see you guys for awhile now. I love watching you play.” Joey’s eyes darken ever so slightly as he says this, even as his smile widens, his gaze locking on Jim’s. And there’s something there… something, something behind Joey’s eyes, a kind of predatory light, and it makes Jim’s heartbeat speed up several paces. 

Nah. He must be just imagining it. He has to be imagining the way Joey is looking him over, when he meets Joey’s eyes for a moment. _Why would he look at him like that, anyway, when he’s so small and pretty and…?_

Jim manages to derail the train of thought when Joey continues on without missing a beat, and he watches as Joey pulls the glass of Coke he’d been handed below the bar and pours something into it from a flask he’d apparently been hiding in the waistband of his pants. “What’re you up to for the rest of the night?” Joey tucks the flask away again and brings the straw of his drink to his lips, a slight wince narrowing his eyes as he takes a long pull of the drink. 

Jim’s eyebrow twitches slightly. _This brazen little… drinking underage right under the bartender’s nose…_ Never mind that he’s not 21 either, and is only allowed to drink here because the bartender knows his dad. “Oh. Um. I don’t know. Hang out. Play guitar. Drink. That kinda thing. You know what I mean?” Jim suppresses the urge to duck his head when he’s done speaking.

A small smirk makes the corners of Joey’s mouth curve upwards. “Cool. Can I hang with you? You hanging out alone, or....?” He lets the sentence trail off into a question, and downs more of his drink as he looks at Jim. 

“Uh. Yeah, prob—probably so.” Jim inwardly cringes at the sound of his own voice, hating the timbre, and the way he stumbles over his words when he’s nervous. He doesn’t even understand why he’s so wound up. Fuck, it’s not like Joey’s even done anything except be friendly and ask to hang out. He needs to get a fucking grip. 

Joey watches Jim turn his head away from him and down the rest of the beer in his bottle. “Sooo? Can I hang out with you, then?” Joey keeps his eyes on Jim, watching him fidget with the label on the bottle in his hands. “I’ve got nothing better to do. My friends are idiots and I’m bored of them. It’d be cool to hang out with you, get to know you better.” 

Jim’s eyebrow twitches again, a habit Joey’s coming to recognize as a nervous tick of Jim’s. The way Joey’d said _get to know you better_ does nothing to help the nervous energy thrumming through Jim’s every cell. “Uh. Yeah. Yeah, sure. It’s cool.” Jim reaches up and pushes his long blonde waves out of his face, clearing his throat softly. “What do you have in mind?”

“I don’t know. Just hang out… see where the night takes us.” A wicked glint comes to Joey’s eyes this time, and it sends a shot of heat through Jim, because this time, he’s pretty sure he didn’t imagine the underlying connitations in the tone of Joey’s words, and in the way Joey’s looking him over. The butterflies fluttering in his stomach seem to have turned into bats. Oh, fuck. 

“I figured we could... go somewhere a little more quiet,” Joey continues, “I already packed my drums into the trailer. You need help with your gear?” Joey’s head tilts a little, his long, silky hair falling over one shoulder, and he reaches up to pull it down to frame his face again, before downing the rest of his drink in one go. 

Jim’s mind trips over watching the way Joey’s cheeks hollow slightly as he applies suction to the straw between his lips, and he feels his vision blur just a bit. Joey looks over at him again, an expectant look on his face, and he realizes he’d been asked a question… what was it? _Oh yeah, his gear._ Jim shakes his head. “Nah. I already put it in the backseat of my truck when our set finished.” 

Jim tries to ignore the way his mind whirls and his stomach was twisting and turning with nerves, but his internal monologue was louder than usual. Joey wanted to go somewhere quiet. With him. His mind flashes back to the beginning of the night, and the weird scene earlier with Joey’s singer, Josh Brainard, and his face heats up as the pieces begin to fall into place. Josh had asked him what he thought about Joey. He’d jokingly told Josh that he thought Joey was hot. And now.... oh, God. Could it be? Embarrassment makes his face tingle. What if Josh had told Joey what he’d said? He’d thought it strange, when Josh had asked him; very high-schoolish, almost like those jokes played on him when he had been younger and someone had dared someone to come and talk to him. 

“C’mon, Jim.” The glass, now empty, thunks against the bartop as Joey sets it down. “Let’s get outta here.”

Jim nods, swallowing hard as he slides obediently from the barstool, following after Joey as they make their way through the throng to the exit. A rush of bitter cold cuts through him as they make it through the front door, and he tugs his hoodie tighter around his thin form. 

Beside him, Joey makes a _brrr_ noise. “Fuck! It’s cold.” He grins over at Jim, who nods his agreement as they hurry across the parking lot. 

“Did you drive here?” Jim asks Joey, glancing around the lot.

“Nah. I rode up with my guitarist, Craig. You know Craig Jones?” Joey rubs his hands together as they make it to Jim’s truck. 

“Yeah, I know him. Or, I know of him. I don’t think the guy’s ever actually spoken to me.” Jim concentrates on their idle chit-chat, trying to calm the nervousness currently chewing a hole in his gut like a hungry wolf. He unlocks the doors of his truck and they both get in with a sigh of relief as he turns the engine on and turns the heater on full blast.

“Pfft, yeah. Craig’s the silent type.” Joey laughs, falling into the passenger’s seat and immediately holding his fingers up next to the vents to thaw them. “Fuck, did hell freeze over and nobody told me?”

Jim laughs, the sound a bit braying, and he winces at the noise. “You know? Maybe so.” He buckles his belt and pulls carefully out of the space, heading out onto the highway. 

They travel a few miles, with Jim glancing over at Joey every few minutes, before Jim finally clears his throat. “So, uh. You guys did a great job tonight. Not bad for your first show.”

Joey smirks over at Jim, having been enjoying the sort of nervous energy Jim’s throwing off from the other side of the truck. “Heh. Thanks. And thanks for letting us open. Taking a chance on an unknown kid.” 

Jim tugs his lower lip between his lips, blushing a little. “No problem.”

Silence falls between them again for a moment before Joey turns his head again, one delicate brow lifting. “Where are we going, Jim?”

Jim hadn’t even considered this. He didn’t want to bring Joey back to the house he’s sharing with a roommate, just in case... _something_ was gonna happen. Not that he held out much hope for that, but certainly, with the way Joey’s been looking at him... and if Josh had really told Joey about what he’d said…

“Uh. I figured I would just... get us a room. For the night. So we can... talk. Undisturbed. You know?” Jim clears his throat again, not having been expecting to spend the money he’d earned tonight on a hotel room, but figuring it was definitely worth the gamble to do so. 

Joey’s smirk only widens with this information, and he nods, his smirk turning very cat-that-ate-the-canary. “Yes, good. Undisturbed is good. You wanna stop and get some more booze, or what?”

“I have some beer in the cooler in the back.” Jim replies, and he makes a conscious effort to loosen his grip on the steering wheel.

“Oh, cool. That’ll work.” Joey smirks again, feeling a sense of power surge through him as Jim fidgets next to him.

It takes a bit longer than Jim anticipated to get to the small hotel he’d had in mind, but soon they’re pulling into the lot and he’s parking the truck in a vacant spot. New butterflies break out in his gut as he glances over at Joey again. The way the light falls over Joey’s face makes him look very young - too young - and he feels a sudden strange feeling of _maybe this isn’t such a good idea_ , but he shakes it off after another minute. Joey’s not near as innocent as he appears, Jim knows. He himself, being for all intents and purposes a virgin, was likely far more innocent than Joey. Besides, nothing is even gonna happen, anyway. Jim’s not gonna get that lucky tonight.

“We getting out?” Joey smirks at Jim again, and Jim tugs his lip between his teeth for a moment. _No, definitely not innocent. Not with that permanent wicked glint in his eyes._

“Yeah. Yeah. Come on.” He swings the truck door open, forcing himself to stand straight and tall even though his anxiety usually makes him hunch quite a bit, make himself smaller. 

Joey falls into line beside him as they go into the lobby and Jim secures the room for the night, and soon he’s unlocking the door to the room and allowing them inside. 

“I gotta go and grab my stuff from the truck. Don’t wanna leave it out there.” Jim turns on his heel after opening the door to let Joey inside. 

“Okay. Cool. You need some help?” Joey turns his head and looks back at Jim hovering in the doorway.

“Nah, I got it. Probably gonna have to make a couple trips, though.” 

“Okay.” Joey disappears into the room, and Jim turns to head back to the parking lot, leaning against his truck when he gets there, ignoring the bitter arctic wind as it slices through his sweatshirt.

 _It’s okay. He can do this. Joey’s in his room waiting for him. Oh, fuck. No, he can do this._ Jim can’t help but admit to himself that if there was anybody in the local scene here in Des Moines that he would like to lose his V-card to, it would be Joey Jordison. There was something about Joey… some unnamable quality about him that made Jim feel drawn to him like a moth to a flame. Something that nobody else had that brought heat to places Jim had never felt it before. Of course, it helped that Joey was absolutely gorgeous. His long straight hair framing a long face, sparkling blue eyes full of such devilment, and a bright smile when his lips weren’t curled into a wicked smirk to match his eyes. He was small and cute, he was funny, and so fucking sure of himself. But not in a cocky way like some of the other musicians.

Yes. _Joey was perfect._

Jim forced himself to gather his things, making a couple of trips to bring in all his gear and the cooler from his truck. When he got back to the hotel room and closed the door, bolting it, Joey had stretched out on the bed, his shoes kicked off, and was flipping idly through the channels on the TV as he waited.

“Toss me a beer, man,” Joey said as Jim hesitated just inside the door of the room, rubbing his hands together.

“Oh. Yeah.” Jim turned to the cooler, grabbing a can of Pabst and tossing it over to Joey, and grabbing one for himself, distracting himself from his nerves by popping the top and taking a long draw. “Uh. You… you mind if I smoke?” He tapped his shirt pocket, feeling the packet of cigarettes there.

“Go ahead.” Joey held the beer at arm’s length as he opened it, the fizz pouring out over his hand, and he licks it off of his fingers before taking a drink himself. 

With relief, Jim works one of the slender sticks from his pack and sparks the end with his lighter, taking a deep, calming drag. He takes another, and one more, before he finds the courage to go over to sit next to Joey on the bed.

Joey doesn’t waste any time in his intentions as another slow smirk spreads across his face. “Can I ask you something?”

Jim swallows hard, and takes another long drag, exhaling with the words. “Uh. Yeah. Sure.”

“Well. It’s just… Josh… my singer…” Joey watches as Jim tenses just a bit with his words, and feels another surge of power over Jim. “He told me earlier that you said you think I’m hot.” It’s a statement, not a question, yet Joey’s head tilts just a bit to indicate that he’s asking if Josh was telling the truth.

Jim takes another drink of his beer, and he somehow can’t force himself to meet Joey’s eyes as he replies. “Um. I… uh. Well. I was joking, when I said it.” He glances at Joey to gauge his reaction, watching Joey’s eyebrow arch. “But… it’s not really… uh, a joke. You know? Cause I… uh… yeah, I do. Think you’re… you know.”

“Yeah?” A smile, a genuine one this time, breaks out over Joey’s face, and Jim is surprised to see pink tinge the apples of Joey’s cheeks. 

“Yeah.” Jim is thankful, at least, that his voice comes out strong and confident this time.

But the confidence doesn’t last long, not when Joey downs most of his beer, then sets his can down, reaching to nab the mostly-spent cigarette from Jim’s long fingers. His nerves ramp back up, but heat also spreads through him as he watches as Joey takes drag of the cigarette himself and exhales the smoke slowly, that same wicked, not-quite-so-innocent-at-all look coming back to his eyes. “I think you’re fucking hot.”

Jim feels his eyelids go into a sort of spasm as he blinks rapidly in shock. “You… do?”

“Mhm.” Joey stretches over Jim, quite deliberately, his body brushing Jim’s as he mashes the cigarette out in the ashtray on the side table next to the bed. The can in Jim’s hand makes a soft metallic sound as Jim reflexively squeezes it, and Joey reaches down to take it from his grasp, simultaneously leaning in to him slowly, giving Jim a chance to pull away if he wants.

Jim can’t help the way his eyelids go a bit hooded, the whole scene kind of feeling like a daydream as he watches Joey lean in to him, and he leans to meet him, their lips fitting together seamlessly as Joey’s head tilts slightly at the last moment. 

And it’s all Jim can do to keep his body functioning at all when he’s sure his heart has skipped more than the allowable amount of beats in order to keep him alive. All thought goes out the window, however, when Joey makes the softest, sweetest noise - sort of like a soft purr, Jim thinks - and deepens the kiss. 

The sheer amount of tingles that sizzle through his veins as their tongues meet and start to dance is enough to make Jim feel weak and high, and he echoes Joey’s soft noise with one of his own, the sound swallowed by Joey’s greedy mouth. The kiss goes on for what seems like forever, and still, Jim is disappointed when Joey breaks it with a soft sigh, turning to place the can of beer on the side table next to his own before turning back to Jim, his eyes softer now than they were before. His voice is much softer as well, barely above a whisper, and Jim has to really listen to hear him over the TV in the background. 

“I really like you, Jamie.” 

_Jamie_. It’s not something Jim had ever been called by a lover before. It makes something in his chest constrict, and he has the quick, romanticized thought that it must be his heartstrings being tugged by Joey. That something, that unnamable something about Joey grows stronger, and he feels himself even more drawn to him than before, and it’s in this moment he realizes.. this is it. He wants this to happen.

“I really like you, too.” He hears his own voice answer Joey, and is rewarded by Joey pushing him up towards the pillows on the bed, and he goes willingly where he’s directed, his hands coming up to immediately steady Joey as Joey’s legs straddle him as he lays back.

“Is this okay?” Joey asks, voice still soft, as their bodies press together. And even though they’re still fully clothed, the amount of heat still searing through him is making him feel like he’s caught fire, or maybe Joey has, or maybe both…? 

His cock gives a strong twitch when Joey’s weight shifts just enough, and an involuntary moan colors the air as Jim’s mouth opens to answer. “Fuck. Yes.”

Joey makes another one of those purring sounds, and it makes goosebumps rise up on Jim’s arms, especially when Joey’s head lowers to deliver another kiss, this one much different than the first - full of fire and lust. And he’s so addicted to the way Joey’s kisses make him feel, the way it feels like Joey’s dragging him underwater in the best way possible, that it doesn’t even register in Jim’s mind as Joey’s small, nimble fingers work him out of his clothes. 

It’s only when he’s being pulled from his pants, and he’s watching as Joey pulls back to get them off, and then work his way out of his own clothes, that he realizes how far he’s going now. With Joey, a kid who’s probably not quite seventeen yet, but has somehow managed to gather all the strings and is working him like a marionette.

Jim resists the urge to cover up as Joey pauses after chucking their clothes over the side of the bed. “Oh, my God,” Joey breathes, seeming awed somehow, and Jim feels his face prickle with the heat of embarrassment, his arms coming up to cover what he feels are way-too-big nipples for a guy. “Don’t. Don’t cover up, Jamie. You’re gorgeous. Just as gorgeous as I dreamed you’d be.”

Jim lets Joey tug his arms free of his chest, and he gets distracted from his embarrassment as his eyes rake over Joey’s small, lithe form. He’s got muscles in all the right places - toned but not overly so - and he’s so compact but perfectly proportionate. Jim’s fooled around with people of both sexes, but he’s never seen anyone that’s as beautiful to him as Joey is. 

“Fuck, I want you.” Joey growls softly, and the sound makes Jim shiver, the sensation only intensifying as Joey presses them together once more, bare skin to bare skin. “Fuck,” Joey breathes, and his head ducks to press kisses and soft bites to Jim’s neck, making Jim squirm and writhe.

Jim can’t help the noises that Joey’s able to pull from his throat, and he arches into Joey’s mouth as Joey makes his way down Jim’s body, paying special attention to his nipples. Joey’s doing things, wicked things with his tongue that drives Jim absolutely crazy with need, his cock throbbing and twitching, a pool of precome leaking against his stomach. 

Tugging at the bedspread beneath him, Jim’s voice sounds strained with desperation. “Joey! You’re gonna… make me…” the sentence is bitten off with a moan, and Joey’s head rises just a bit to give him a devilish smirk, before he leans over the side of the bed, digging in his pants for a moment.

Jim blinks at Joey, wondering what he’s doing, and sucks in a soft gasp as Joey sits back up, holding up a condom and a small vial that Jim assumes is lubrication. “Didn’t know if I’d need it…” Joey says softly, “but I was sure hoping I would.”

Jim swallows hard, and nods his consent. 

“Yeah?” Joey asks. “You sure you wanna?”

Jim takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly, examining whether he has any doubts at all, and finding none. “Want you.”

Joey smirk wickedly again. “Want you, too. Fuck.” Joey pops open the vial, slicking his fingers well with the lube, and shifts down Jim’s body again, pushing Jim’s legs apart and pressing two fingers against Jim’s puckered entrance.

And it’s now, finally, that Jim has a sudden wave of anxiety come crashing down over him. The last thing he wants is for Joey to find out that he’s never gone this far with anyone before. But he doesn’t know if he’s gonna be able to take what Joey’s about to dish out. He holds his breath, body tense, as Joey’s fingertips slide against him.

“Shhh. Don’t worry, Jamie. I got ya. I’m not gonna hurt you.” Joey’s voice is soft, soothing, and Jim fights to relax himself, his stomach muscles fluttering as Joey’s head lowers once more to press soft kisses along his skin.

He focuses on the way Joey’s lips make him feel, the way they bring goosebumps in their wake as Joey presses kisses all over his stomach and his hips, a soft nip to the jut of bone there making Jim jolt and cry out softly. The sound dies on his lips, a huge intake of air filling his lungs as all at once Joey’s hot, wet mouth engulfs his entire length, swallowing him down at the same moment that the two fingers circling his entrance push past the resistance there to bury themselves inside of him.

Soft, shaky breaths escape Jim as he fights to relax, remembering that he has to somehow pretend he’s done this before and it’s no big deal. His cock throbs hard, deep down Joey’s throat, and the sound Joey makes, muffled by his length, is enough to make him relax just a bit as he focuses on the heat of Joey’s mouth.

Joey definitely, definitely is not-so-innocent, and Jim’s head rises to watch as Joey deep throats him like a porn star, swallowing around his length. Jim finds himself bucking between Joey’s fingers and his mouth, unable to help himself, unable to stop the whines and gasps and cries of pleasure as Joey works him open with a skill he hadn’t imagined Joey would possess. Never in his life has he had such incredible head, and it’s enough to keep him from tensing as Joey adds another finger inside of his body, stretching him open slowly but effectively.

Jim struggles not to come from the onslaught of pleasure being dealt, his whole body shaking with the effort as his breath catches in his throat for longer and longer periods of time. “Joey!” he cries out, gasping, “FUCK!” 

Joey’s mouth rises, and his fingers curl just right inside of him, touching something inside of Jim that makes sparks race up his spine. “You ready?” Joey whispers, sounding breathless.

“Yes, yes! Please! Fuck me!” Jim can’t believe the way he’s begging, can’t believe the filth pouring out of him, his usual inhibitions somehow fought into submission by what Joey’s doing to him. He can’t even find any embarrassment as desperation claws at his insides, needing more, more, _more_ of Joey in a way he’s never felt before with anyone.

Joey’s fingers slide out of him, and he shudders with the feeling, clenching around nothing now as Joey reaches over to nab the condom he’d tossed next to him on the bed, tearing into it with his teeth and spitting the wrapper aside. Jim pants, his eyes blown wide with arousal, dark and needy, as he watches Joey roll the latex over his length. “Please…” Jim whines, and his legs fall further open in invitation.

With a soft growl, Joey shifts and leans over Jim, pausing to kiss him slowly, making Jim writhe and arch against him as he feels Joey’s cockhead pressing insistently at his entrance. Breaking the kiss, Joey pants softly, breath hot against Jim’s lips. “I’ve wanted this so long…” he whispers, and Jim whimpers again.

Before Jim can reply, Joey’s hips are pressing forward, and to his surprise, his body accepts Joey fairly easily, the muscles in his thighs involuntarily twitching and his inner muscles clenching and releasing reflexively around the intrusion as Joey buries himself deep inside of him, making him feel full in a way that he’s never felt before, but immediately decides he fucking adores.

“Oh, fuck. Fuck.” Joey breathes, stilling, his cock pulsing inside of Jim. “You’re so goddamned tight, so fucking hot, Jamie… fuck, you feel like fucking heaven.”

And maybe this is heaven, Jim thinks, as Joey starts to move inside of him after another minute, and he lets Joey find the rhythm, the sounds Joey makes for him making everything that much more intense for him, that much more hot and incredible. He finds his own hips falling into rhythm with Joey’s as his cock throbs between them, his body arching into Joey again and again as they move together, sounds he’s never made before for anyone else ripping free of his throat.

How Jim wants it to last and last forever, his whole body singing with the powerful sensations, and it’s all so much, so overwhelming - the duality of his cock rubbing against Joey’s stomach and the feel of Joey’s cock thrusting faster and harder inside of him by the minute. And all too soon he’s crying out, his orgasm hitting him with the speed and force of a freight train, barreling into him and dragging him under as his cock twitches between them, covering them both in his release.

Joey cries out, biting down on Jim’s neck as Jim comes for him, following him over seconds later, the powerful waves crashing over him as he spills his seed deep inside of Jim, his smaller body trembling on top of Jim’s as they ride the intensity out together.

Slowly, slowly, they float down together, their jerky movements slowing and stilling, the sound of their harsh breathing and the panting loud as they both try to recover.

With a hiss, Joey shifts and pulls out of Jim, pulling the condom off and tying it, tossing it into the trash. “Holy fucking hell, man. That was incredible.” Joey smiles at Jim, a genuine smile, not a smirk this time. 

Jim’s eyes crack open, and a soft smile spreads across his face as he looks Joey over. Joey’s hair is a bit mussed now, his lips swollen and kiss-stained, and he looks drowsy and sweet. Jim’s heart flutters in his chest. “Mhmm.”

Joey gets up, walking on still-shaky legs to the bathroom, cleaning himself up and then coming back with a cloth and wiping Jim clean as well. He tosses the cloth carelessly to the floor when he’s done, and tugs on the blankets, working them down and over them both with Jim’s help, cuddling up to Jim’s side. “Can we just… stay here tonight?”

“Won’t you be missed?” Jim asks, covering a yawn. Even in his sleep-addled brain, he knows he definitely doesn’t need Joey’s parents or whoever the hell looking for him and finding him there with him. 

“Nah. I’ll just say I crashed at Craig’s or Josh’s.” Joey smiles again, and cuddles closer to Jim, his eyes closing. “This was a really fucking good night.”

Again Jim feels his heart flutter, and he tightens his arms around Joey, hugging his smaller body to his own. He can only hope that in the morning, Joey won’t be done with him. He knows Joey’s young, and a bit flighty. 

_I won’t think about that now. I’ll think about that later,_ Jim decides. Reality and all that comes with it can wait.

“Goodnight, Jamie.” Joey whispers, and Jim can’t help but smile again, warmth gathering in his chest.

“Goodnight.” And he lets sleep steal him under, happy for the moment, pressed against Joey’s small body.


End file.
